‘Street takeovers’ terrorize towns across US as former detective warns of deadly consequences

Disruptive "street takeovers" have been causing chaos around the country and sometimes loss of life, and one former detective explains why she believes the trend has spread so rapidly. 

"Street takeovers are when … large groups kind of descend upon a street to either race or earn out or do tricks in the street, effectively making it impossible for anybody who wants to use the street," Lolita Harper, executive director of the Sheriff's Employees' Benefit Association and former detective, told Fox News Digital.

"They've become … more and more dangerous in terms of the damage that they're causing, the crowds that they're attracting and the essentially taking over of entire communities and or intersections, even resulting in … property damage, cars being lit on fire, windows, smashes."

Hundreds showed up to participate in a California street takeover near Costa Mesa and Santa Ana over the weekend, FOX Los Angeles reported. Video from the scene shows large crowds gathering while a driver in a green car does doughnuts around a fire. 

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Harper believes social media has been used as a tool by these agitators to promote street takeovers. 

"Technology has now made it so much easier to spread this negative message … and at the same time, attract a larger crowd, which then again makes it increase in popularity and increase in danger," she said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed four new bills aimed at helping law enforcement agencies across the state crack down on the disruptions, but Harper said her state government has not done enough to put a stop to the chaos. 

"I think California has led the way for decriminalization of a lot of things," she told Fox News Digital. "We have taken such a focus away from what they're trying to call nonviolent crimes with essentially zero penalties for things that are classified as nonviolent, that they are just growing and growing because people know that they're ... not going to get in trouble."

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Dozens of people called 911 in Cleveland last week when wild crowds swarmed the streets with cars and guns in a disruptive street takeover, the Fox 8 I-Team reported. 

One person begged dispatchers for help, saying, "Police. Police. Please send some cops up here," the outlet reported.

"If windows are being smashed out or cars are being set on fire, thankfully we have things like … surveillance cameras that we can track. But again, these are long and extensive investigations," Harper said.

There are a few factors in these gatherings that make it difficult for law enforcement to hold those responsible for the disorder accountable, Harper said. 

"The size of the crowds … it's hard to pinpoint who exactly is doing it. Once you have an actual presence in the area, people disperse very quickly," she said. "Large crowds mean you need a large enforcement presence that's taking away resources from other parts of the city."

Street races, takeovers, speed contests and reckless driving have all increased in percentage from April through May 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023, the Los Angeles Police Department's interim chief at the time, Dominic Choi, noted in a June report. 

In addition to causing noise pollution, traffic obstructions, property damage and physical injuries, street takeovers can even cause death, Choi wrote. 

Harper agrees with this finding. 

"The potential for loss of life is incredible," she said. "You're taking away safety. You're taking away a sense of community, feeling like … they can walk their kids to school. That's another tragedy, although it can't be quantified with a loss of life. You're taking away quality of life from these communities."